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Government and Politics of Dranland
The Republic of Dranland is a unitary parliamentary republic. The government of Dranland is split into three levels, national, provincial and local; and three branches, the legislature, executive and judiciary. At the national level, executive power is vested in the head of state, the President, and exercised by the Cabinet, which is led by the Prime Minister, the head of government. The unicameral legislature is called the Parliament, and an independent judiciary exists to interpret the law. Provincial governments are granted certain limited devolved powers (subject to the supervision of the national government), as are local governments. Dranland also controls the Dranish Autonomous Region of North Dovani, a de facto colony. The Republic of Dranland is a multi-party democracy, where seven major parties compete for power. The libertarian Grand National Party (GNP) generally co-operates with the right-of-centre Popular Party (PP), while the Partido Acción Ciudadana (PAC) is a social democratic and progresive party which was formerly in coalition with the now-defunct Unity, and now works with the more strongly leftist Democratic Socialist Party (DSP) and environmentalist Green Solidarity. The Virtuous Kyo Alliance is a free-market conservative party which is generally oriented towards the Kyo minority. The Valdorian Blue Shirt Movement is a far-right party, around which a cordon sanitaire has been established. Constitution Dranland's Constitution is very limited, defining few of the powers of and limitations of the government; where it does, it does so in a vague manner. Many have criticised the Constitution as being too lax and for providing only the most basic and rudimentary framework for the Dranish government. Much of the government of Dranland operates not according to the written Constitution, but according to constitutional convention; for example, the existence of Prime Minister and Constitutional Court is not recognised by the former. To rectify this situation, a draft Constitution, which will, according to its terms, supercede any former constitutional arrangements, has been proposed by a commission of legal experts appointed by the government to produce a more comprehensive Constitution which will codify much unwritten convention, but will also introduce some constitutional changes, such as an article which clearly defines Dranish rights and liberties and another which specifies the the manner of declaration and the scope of states of emergency. This draft Constitution is soon to be placed before Parliament. National Government The national government is the most powerful of the three levels of government, as the powers exercised by the other levels of government are held on the sufferance of the national government. The national government can over-rule the decision of lower levels of government. Additionally, it has sole responsibility over certain areas such as defence and foreign policy. Legislature The unicameral national legislature of the Republic of Dranland is the Parliament. While it is not the supreme political authority in Dranland and is bound by a Constitution which can be bindingly interpreted by the judiciary alone, the Parliament is nevertheless considered the foremost political institution in the nation. Parliament's legislative authority is not subject to any constraints except basic constitutional checks on its powers. Its main function is to consider legislation, which it may choose to enact or not to enact. Acts are legally binding, while resolutions are simply expressions of the opinion of the legislature. Parliament additionally regulates its own procedures and elects its own officers. It is responsible for ratifying treaties, and has the sole prerogative of amending the Constitution. The exercise of these two powers must only be with a two-thirds majority. One of Parliament's most crucial powers derives from the Government's accountability to it. A Government cannot be formed without Parliament's consent; additionally, it may at any point withdraw this consent through a motion of no confidence, which will force the Government to resign. The loss of supply, which can only be effected by Parliament, achieves the same effect. The presiding officer of Parliament is the Speaker, who is elected by Parliament and, like the Government, must retain the confidence of Parliament during their tenure. The Speaker, while allowed to retain their original party affiliation, is expected to act in a neutral and impartial manner. As such, they neither debate nor vote. Parliament consists of 250 Members of Parliament (MPs). Dranland is divided into 150 constituencies, which elect one MP each using the instant-runoff voting system. The other 100 MPs are elected from province-wide party lists to ensure the proportionality of the legislature. Parliament has a maximum term of four years but can be dissolved early. As can be seen in the picture above, the Parliament's main debating chamber is a hemicycle. Ministers and other senior government officials sit in the frontbenches, the front two rows separate from the rest of the hemicycle. On the raised platform at the front of the chamber sit the Speaker and Deputy Speaker, who are flanked by legislative officers such as the clerks and the sergeant-at-arms. MPs speak at their seats; the lecterns is only used by official guests and executive officers who are not also MPs (e.g. the President). Public galleries surround the debating chamber. Composition Parties in government in bold Executive The executive branch of the Republic of Dranland is responsible for the execution of laws, as its name suggests. It consists of the President, who is the head of state, and the Cabinet, which is led by the Prime Minister, the head of government. President The President is the head of state and 'first citizen' of Dranland, and thus occupies an extremely prestigious role in the Dranish government. The President is also the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, chief diplomatic officer and chief executive officer. However, this role is largely ceremonial, as the President's powers can only be exercised on the advice of the Cabinet and Prime Minister. According to law, the President is popularly elected using a two-round electoral system, where if no candidate wins a majority of the vote, the top two finishers progress to a runoff round, where the winner becomes President. The first round of Presidential elections are held at the same time as Parliamentary elections. Cabinet and Prime Minister The Dranish Cabinet is the de facto highest executive body of the Government of Dranland, and is composed of all of the senior ministers of the Government, of which there are currently fourteen (including the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister). The President and Speaker of Parliament attend meetings, but the Speaker is technically not a member of the Cabinet. Ministers are each responsible for a certain area of policy through their control of an executive department and its associated bureaucracy. Ministers also participate in decision-making outside of their own department by virtue of the collective decision-making powers of the Cabinet, of which they are a member. They are appointed by the President on the advice of the Prime Minister, but must have the confidence of the Parliament. Ministers are all assisted by a Deputy Minister and a Chief of Staff. The former is often a politician, while the Chief of Staff is a bureaucrat. The most senior Minister, who chairs the Cabinet and is head of government, is the Prime Minister. The powers of the office derive not only from their authority to supervise the Cabinet and individual Ministers' activities, but their legislative power, given that they are often the leader of a major political party. Depending on personality, the Prime Minister may either be first among equals, or a clearly dominant figure. The Prime Minister is assisted by the Deputy Prime Minister, an office which is not particularly powerful. The Deputy Prime Ministership is often given to the leader of a junior coalition partner in Government, as the multi-party nature of Parliament prevents one party from gaining a majority to govern alone. The Deputy Prime Minister is also responsible for the civil service and relations between the national and lower levels of government. The Prime Minister has an opposition couterpart, the Leader of the Opposition, who is generally also the leader of the largest party not in government. The Opposition Leader is responsible for holding the government accountable, especially at weekly Prime Minister's Questions. Note that the Offices of senior executive officers are not run personally by those officers, but by the Chief of Staff, a non-political appointee. Judiciary The national Dranish judiciary is the third branch of the national government, and is responsible for the interpretation of legislation and the Constitution. Additionally, judgements handed down by provincial courts may be appealed to the national court system. The judges of each court are appointed by the President on the advice of the Prime Minister, but must have the prior approval of the legislature. They are appointed for a non-renewable twenty-year term; however, at a certain age (which varies between the courts), they are obliged to retire even if their term has not yet expired. The only other way judges can be removed mid-term is by impeachment. Each court is led by its President. The apex of the Dranish court heirarchy is occupied by the Constitutional Court, which interprets constitutional law, as the name suggests. It does not have original jursidiction and hears appeals from the National Court. Depending on the gravity of the case, the Court can sit with any odd number of judges from three to nine, the decision of which can be appealed to the full Court of fifteen. The President of the Constitutional Court is also the Chief Justice of Dranland. The High Court is the ultimate court in Dranland for matters not relating to the Constitution, and thus has the last say in all civil and criminal cases. It hears appeals from the National Court of Appeals. Like the Constitutional Court, it can sit with any odd number of judges from three to nine, and appeals can be made to the full Court of fifteen. Its President is the Senior Justice of Dranland. The National Court of Appeals is the penultimate court in Dranland, and is the ultimate court in certain areas of judicature, such as all family law cases and less important criminal and civil cases. It hears appeals from the National ourt, and also from the provincial High Courts. There are several dozen judges of the National Court of Appeals, of which any odd number from three to nine are selected to hear any case. This ensures that the Court's workload is spread and not concentrated on any group of judges. The National Court has original jursidicton over all national law. It also has original jurisdiction over constitutional cases. Its only appelate jurisdiction is over minor cases from the provincial High Courts, deemed unsuitable for consideration by the National Court of Appeals. It has a pool of about a hundred judges, from which three are drawn for appeals. In civil cases, one judge sits alone, while in criminal cases, the single judge presides over the court while the jury decides on matters of fact. There are also a number of minor courts in the national court system, such as the Traffic Court, Family Court and Magistrates' Court. These courts have original jurisdiction over cases of little significance, and have no appelate jurisdiction whatsoever. Their cases involve one judge only. The judges in the minor courts are appointed by the Minister of Justice, but the President (on the advice of the Prime Minister) or Parliament may over-rule the appointment. Provincial Government As Dranland is a unitary nation, the powers of provincial governments are fairly limited, and can be unilaterally withdrawn by the national government; the exercise of the powers it does possess can also be vetoed by the national government. Nevertheless, the national government has observed a convention of not excessively interfering in provincial affairs. Dranland proper is divided into five provinces, each with a generally identical government. The five provinces are Elbian, Loren, Magadonia, Ulbrach and Valdor. To distinguish these provinces from those in the Dranish Autonomous Region of North Dovani, these provinces are occasionally referred to as the metropolitan provinces. The National Association of Provincial Governments (NAPG) is an official organisation which acts as a liason between the national and provincial levels of government, and also a forum for inter-provincial co-operation. It is composed of the most senior leaders of the provincial governments, namely the Governor, First and Deputy First Ministers, Leader of the Opposition and Speaker of the Assembly. Legislature The provinces of Dranland each have unicameral legislatures (like the national legislature), called the Provincial Assemblies. The Assemblies have powers similar to those of Parliament (but in a slightly reduced form), such as the power to pass legislation (both acts and resolutions), form and force the resignation of the Government, determine its own procedures and elect its own officers. Like Parliament, the Provincial Assemblies are presided over by an impartial Speaker who also refrains from either debating or voting. They each consist of 100 Members of the Assembly (MAs), of which 60 are elected from constituencies using the instant-runoff voting systems, and 40 are elected from a party list for the sake of proportional representation. MAs are elected at the same time as national MPs. Unlike the far more powerful national Parliament, Provincial Assemblies have significant restrictions on the exercise of its powers. The Assemblies can have Acts vetoed by the Pronvicical Governor, although a veto can be overturned by two-thirds majority; an Act which intially passes with a two-thirds majority cannot be vetoed in the first place. Its powers can be rescinded by the national government, and Parliament may countermand its authority. Executive The role of the executive branches at the national and provincial levels are identical: to enforce statute and precendent. Provincial executives are led by the Governor and the First Minister, who chairs the cabinet. Governor The Governor is the provincial equivalent of a head of state. Like the President, they are the chief executive officer. Although the office of Governor is chiefly symbolic, it possesses one crucial power that the President lacks: the authority to veto legislation, as stated above. Even this power, however, is subject to a number of restrictions. Like the President, the Governor of a province is popularly elected using the runoff system which is also used to elect the President. The first round of the Presidential election is held simultaneously to the first round of the five gubernatorial elections; the second rounds also coincide. Cabinet and First Minister The function of a provincial Cabinet is identical to that of the national Cabinet. It is the executive decision-making authority of the government composed of the senior Ministers, who are, like their national counterparts, are responsible for an executive department and for making collective decisions in Cabinet. There are currently twelve Ministers in Cabinet in each province. They are appointed by the Governor on the advice of the First Minister, provided that they have the confidence of the Pronvincial Assembly. Provincial Cabinets are led by the head of government, like the national Cabinet, who is titled the First Minister to differentiate them from the national Prime Minister. The First Minister supervises and oversees the Cabinet, and is assisted by the Deputy First Minister, who has a similar function to the Deputy Prime Minister in the national government. Like the Prime Minister, the provincial First Minsters are held accountable to the legislature, especially at First Minister's Questions, by the Leader of the Opposition, who, like the national Leader, is the leader of the largest party not in government. Judiciary Each province has its separate judicial system, which it is responsible for administering in accordance with broad instructions handed down from the national government. The decisions of provincial courts may be appealled to the national courts. Like the judges of the national courts, the judges of provincial courts are appointed by the head of state (the Governor) on the advice of the head of government (the First Minister) and must be approved by the legislature. Their terms last for twenty years but must retire at a certain age even if their term is incomplete. Judges can only be removed by impeachment if their term has not yet expired and they have not reached the maximum age. The highest court of the provincial court system is generically known as the High Court, although individual provinces have different names. It has no original jurisdiction, and only has appellate jurisdiction. It may appeal to the National Court. It sits with three or five judges depending on the case's gravity, but an appeal to the full Court will require the presence of all nine judges. Its President is the Chief Justice of its province. The second-highest court is the Court of Appeals, which, again, is known by various names depending on the province. It hears appeals from the Superior Courts and District Courts. Its membership includes several dozen judges, and sits with five randomly selected judges on an appeal from the Superior Courts, and three on an appeal from the District Courts. The Superior Courts of the provinces have no appellate jurisdiction, but hear more serious civil and criminal cases in the first instance. There are multiple Superior Courts in each province, each with jurisdiction over a certain area. Three judges hear civil cases, while one judge presides over a jury trial in criminal cases. Each Superior Court has a different 'pool' of judges from which a bench (or single presiding judge) is randomly chosen. The District Courts are similar to the Superior Courts. In each province, there are multiple District Courts; the District Courts, however, are more numerous than the Superior Courts (in a ratio of approximately three to one). They hear less serious civil and criminal cases, although not extremely minor cases such as misdemeanours. The District Courts never sit with more than one judge. In a mirror of the national court system, provincial court systems also have minor courts such as Family Courts and Traffic Courts. They are almost identical to the minor national courts, with jurisdiction over very minor cases and one judge only. Their judges are also appointed by the Minister of Justice (but, in this case, the provincial Minister); however the appointment can be annulled by the President or Governor (on the advice of their respective heads of government), Parliament, or the Provincial Assembly. Dranish Autonomous Region Dranland controls a large, comparatively sparsely populated area in northern Dovani, east of Kirlawa and north of the Indralan client state of Utari Mosir. This de facto colony is called the Dranish Autonomous Region of North Dovani; it is informally known as the "DAR" (Dranish Autonomous Region), "Eastern Territories" or simply "Territories". The provinces of the DAR are called the territorial provinces to distinguish them from the metropolitan provinces of Dranland proper. As the name suggests, the DAR has significantly greater autonomy than the sub-national divisions of Dranland proper, although in exchange for this freedom, the DAR has reduced representation in Parliament, with each territorial province sending two non-voting delegates (as opposed to MPs) to Parliament. The DAR has also been expressly granted the right to self-determination through a referendum. The governments of the Dranish Autonomous Region largely mirror the governments of the provinces of Dranland proper; the major differences are that the head of government of each territorial province is the Chief Minister instead of the First Minister, and that the DAR, and its provinces, are supervised by the Territorial Commission, while no such supervisory authority exists over the metropolitan provinces. The Territorial Commission consists of the Territorial Commissioners and the High Commissioner, who supervises the DAR in general. The Commissioners, who reside in the DAR during their tenure, work alongside the Department for Territorial Affairs in Iglesia Mayor; both the Commission and Department are subordinate to the Ministry of Foreign and Territorial Affairs. Local Government Local government is the lowest level of government in Dranland. Dranland is divided into a number of local government areas (LGAs), which correspond to Parliamentary constituencies, with a number of exceptions (as explained below). The boundaries of LGAs cannot cross provincial borders. LGAs are categorised as either districts, municipalities or cities. The first two are different in that a district has no major settlements, while a municipality is largely urban. A city (not to be confused with the statistical and demographic designation, which refers to an urban settlement of more than 50,00 people) is where multiple municipalities forming part of a single large urban area are fused together to form a single LGA. Local governments do not conform to the general paradigm of the separation of powers. The Council, described as District, Municipality or City Council depending on the type of LGA, simultaneously has legislative and executive powers of creating and enforcing regulation. Local Magistrates' Courts (as opposed to provincial or national Magistrate's Courts) are responsible for enforcing these regulations. One Councillor is elected from each ward. All districts and municipalities have ten wards, while cities have at least fifteen, and the largest, Iglesia Mayor, has eighty wards and consequently eighty City Councillors. Councillors are popuarly elected using the instant-runoff voting system and are elected at the same time as all legislators and elected executives. The government of each LGA is led by the Mayor, who is popularly elected like the Councillors and serves as the equivalent of both the head of state and head of government, making them the only de jure chief executives in any level of Dranish government to actually hold significant executive powers. Mayors are generally, in the grand scheme of politics, inconsequential officials, but Mayors of major cities can be significant political figures. The Mayor us assisted by the Deputy Mayor, who is elected by the Council. The counterpart of the NAPG at the local level is the National Association of Local Governments (NALG), composed of all Mayors and Deputy Mayors in the nation. Each province also has a Provincial Association of Local Government (PALG). Like the NAPG, the NALG and PALG are means of fostering co-operation between governments, and act as liasons between the national and local governments, and provincial and local governments, respectively. Elections According to Dranish law, regular general elections are held every four years, although early general elections, which can only be triggered by a Parliamentary motion, can occur. All Dranish elections occur simulataneously, meaning that an early election will affect all levels of government. The sole exception to this rule applies only to special or by-elections. Dranish citizens above the age of 18 are all eligible to vote in elections, although not all adult citizens may stand for election. To cast a ballot, a voter must first be placed on an electoral register; this is to prevent electoral fraud. Voting is fully voluntary; abstaining carries no punishment, and voting carries no reward. Elections in Dranland are held according to a strict timetable. On the Saturday following the first Monday of the month of the election, the Presidential election is held along with the gubernatorial, mayoral and council elections. At the same time, voters elect legislative representatives at both the national and provincial level. The council and legislative elections have only one round. The runoff round of the other elections are held in exaclty one week's time. Meanwhile, on the Friday following the first round and preceeding the runoff round, Parliament and Provincial Assemblies dissolve. On the second Monday following the dissolutions, the new Parliament and Assemblies convene for the first time. At the same time, new councillors and mayors will enter office immediately while their predecessors leave office. On the next day, a Tuesday, the President and Governors are inaugurated. Political Landscape Political Parties As stated above, there are eight major parties in Dranland, listed below in order of their political ideologies, from right-wing to left wing: *Valdorian Blue Shirt Movement (VBSM) - far-right, socially conservative, socialist, neo-conservative (in terms of foreign policy), characterised as 'fascist', suffers from a cordon sanitaire. *Virtuous Kyo Alliance (VKA) - socially and fiscally conservative, generally seeks support from the comparatively conservative Kyo minority *Grand National Party (GNP) - libertarian and minarchist, fiscally conservative, classical and neo-liberal (has socially conservative elements), neo-conservative (in terms of foreign policy). *Popular Party (PP) - centrist/centre right, self-describes as social democratic, socially liberal and progressive, strongly pacifist and internationalist. *Partido Acción Ciudadana (PAC) - left-wing, social democratic/moderate socialist, socially liberal and progressive (has socially conservative elements), pacifist. *Democratic Socialist Party (DSP) - far-left, socialist, big government-minded. *Green Solidarity (GS) - green, eco-socialism, pacifist, federalist. The major political parties are generally controlled by a powerful and assertive leadership that enforces fairly strict party discipline on their members; although they are free to express their views, once the party's direction is determined, members are expected to comply with instructions from the party leadership. Failing to do so may attract consequences that may place one's political career in jeopardy. Electoral Dynamics Note: May not be up-to-date. Will be updated in future. Most provinces have a noticeable if not strong preference for a certain party. The only clear exception to this rule is Magadonia, in which the GNP, PAC and CNP are withing several percentage points of each other in terms of popular vote. Elbians leans towards the PAC, although it certainly cannot be described as a PAC stronghold, while Loren, Ulbrach and Valdor clearly prefer the PP, GNP and CNP respectively; Valdor, formerly dominated by left-wing parties, swung dramatically towards the right in 3393 and returned a CNP near-majority. Gender is a factor in one's political leanings, with males being generally more supportive of the CNP and GNP than females. The CNP has the overwhelming support of elderly citizens, while the GNP is supported by the middle-aged (although young voters may be attracted to its libertarian tendencies), and the PAC and PP consistently win the support of the young. Ethnicity seems to have only a small impact on the political preferences of voters. The majority Dranianos have an almost imperceptible preference for the PAC and PP, while the Welsh Dranians are evenly split between the parties. The Kyo minority is supportive of the CNP and GNP. Immigrants often vote for the PP or PAC, although skilled immigrants are more likely to support the GNP. Educational attainment and income levels are significant factors. High income earners and entrepreneurs support the GNP, although some support the PP for more idealistic reasons than the often rationally self-interested GNP supporters. The less well-off and well-educated support the PAC. Few low-income or high-income earners support the CNP; it is conservative middle-income earners without advanced qualifications that support it. The CNP is the only one of the parties that draws the majority of its support from a rural voter base. Category:Dranland Category:Dovani